
Originally Posted by
J-Dogg
Bob Sapp is a awfully poor example.
He does not train MMA, he prides himself on his "beast style" of fighting because it's his nitch and what makes him marketable.... He has to stay 325lbs, and fight like a gorilla or he's just another guy rolling on the mat.
I've boxed since my young teens and I've trained BJJ for 2 years now, and even if you know every leg lock in the world, you can train to defend them in a fraction of the time it takes to learn them.
Athletic ability is very very important, GSP would be a crappy wrestler if he was not so athletic. He would not get 80% of his take downs if he was not so explosive and powerful for a 170lbs. Faber literally wins all his fights of sheer athletic ability.
Even Quiton Jackson use to be a consistent top contender in Pride with just raw athletic ability. He had some wrestling back ground, but he walked onto the mat and was the 3rd best in the state with no training.
Some people will just have that athletic ability to walk on and win, some can train forever and not ever be on top.
Royce Gracie is a prime example, the guy is the pitamy of BJJ skill. Has trained more than anyone his age ever could, he was born on a mat and his father put him in a arm bar before he breached his mothers vagina. He was completely dominated by Huhges who is consistently dominated today.
Mir and Brock is a perfect example also. Mir is one of the smartest, more dedicated athlete to the art of MMA, learning all the time, technically no one is probably superior to Mir, and no one has more knowledge than him. Yet he is completely dominated by a guy with 4 fights under his belt simply because he is/was bigger, faster and stronger.